Houston, Texas farmers Kevin and Alicia Stump came to Western North Carolina seeking large parcels of land for sale to farm, and when they had no luck finding land, they knew they had to seek an alternative to their traditional farming methods.
In September 2021, Stump Farms was born as the Stumps purchased a small piece of land with warehouse space off Jonesborough Street in Hendersonville. To grow the produce they wanted to grow, the Stumps decided to use hydroponics, which is a method using water-based nutrients to grow produce rather than soil.
"We've been here in Hendersonville since Sept. 1. We were in Houston doing traditional farming for the past seven years," Kevin Stump, 34, said. "When we moved out here and couldn't find land, we leased out this warehouse space to do hydroponic farming. We had dabbled in hydroponics some back in Texas. We're now about 70 percent hydroponics as far as growing lettuces, different varieties of spinach, kale and arugula. Outside, we have cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts and all of our radishes. In the spring, it will be tomatoes, cucumbers and squashes... stuff like that."
Kevin Stump said they are already getting several repeat customers and new ones are trickling in, eager to learn about how plants grow with mostly just water.
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